Pages

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Chelsea-Barca mistakes

Now that I've actually seen all the incidents, it's clear the ref had a bad night.

1. The Barca red card is very doubtful. Looks to me like the Chelsea player stumbles.

2. Handball in the last minute. About as certain a penalty as I've ever seen. The defender turns his back on the ball, puts his arms in the air and the ball strikes him on the bicep. Referee is only 5 metres away. A certain penalty. That said, Ballack should have been shown a red card for his reaction, another mistake.

3. Malouda foul. It's possible that the referee penalises the Barca defender for a foul that starts outside the penalty area. Malouda stays on his feet and gets into the area, where his attempt to turn inside the defender is impeded. It probably should have been a penalty.

4. Ovrebro's best decision of the night? Not giving Drogba a red card. He recognised that conditions were deteriorating and that showing him the second yellow - which he fully deserved for his finger waving and shouting after receiving a yellow - could have set off a riot. He chose to get off the field of play quickly. A wise move. Leave it to the report and to Uefa to deal with Drogba.

5. Referees make mistakes. It is never an excuse for the excesses of behaviour shown by Chelsea last night. Decisions go against you, even big ones. Show a bit of dignity.

No comments: